Fact is, his return (though Rumman wasnt doing a terrible job) suddenly 'coincided' with the turn-around of Islamabads fortunes. Says it all. Top of the table...nothing to complain about.

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So a specialist captain!

But don't you pick up all players in the team and then decide who should be captain?

Didn't see him doing anything great in the field until now. Hasn't seen him coming to bat at all until now and when he did he struggled big time. Hasn't done anything extra-ordinary to "turn" the fortunes of the team... credit goes to some of the players' performances. Let's not be dramatic about that.

Don't see him deserving to play at all in this edition.

44 yrs old... only occupying a space in the team when someone else from the domestic system could have easily played here and proved himself.

But don't you pick up all players in the team and then decide who should be captain?

Didn't see him doing anything great in the field until now. Hasn't seen him coming to bat at all until now and when he did he struggled big time. Hasn't done anything extra-ordinary to "turn" the fortunes of the team... credit goes to some of the players' performances. Let's not be dramatic about that.

Don't see him deserving to play at all in this edition.

44 yrs old... only occupying a space in the team when someone else from the domestic system could have easily played here and proved himself.

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So the fact the team is doing well and he hasnt had any reason to come out to bat, is his fault? He should randomly open the batting just to make some people happy?

But don't you pick up all players in the team and then decide who should be captain?

Didn't see him doing anything great in the field until now. Hasn't seen him coming to bat at all until now and when he did he struggled big time. Hasn't done anything extra-ordinary to "turn" the fortunes of the team... credit goes to some of the players' performances. Let's not be dramatic about that.

Don't see him deserving to play at all in this edition.

44 yrs old... only occupying a space in the team when someone else from the domestic system could have easily played here and proved himself.

SHARJAH: Islamabad United Coach Dean Jones opined on Saturday that fast bowler Muhammad Sami still has a future with the Pakistan national team.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, Jones said: “he still has a chance to do something for Pakistan in the future, and I believe that. He always plays well for us. He is an amazing athlete who bowls 140-145 in this age.”

Sami has taken nine wickets off 10 matches in the Pakistan Super League with the economy rate of 6.92 for the Islamabad United.

Jones said that the franchise is looking after the fast bowler as ‘a race horse’ at the moment.

“We eased him off tonight for the big push,” he said.

Kings will play Islamabad United again in the qualifier match on Sunday. The winner goes through to the final, while the loser gets a second chance and plays the winner of the first eliminator between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiator.

Responding to a question, Jones said that he will advise the team on why they finished as number one in PSL table in a presentation in two days time. He commended the team environment.

“Hussain has been great, Asif has been a wonderful finisher, Faheem has been brilliant,” Jones said. “People asked me why we retained Asif, now they can understand why we are doing these things.”

Don't see why people are scared to play in Pakistan, says United's Walton

DUBAI: Islamabad United wicketkeeper-batsman Chadwick Walton on Monday expressed his surprise at the reluctance of players to play cricket in Pakistan.

Speaking to Geo.tv, the West Indies player said: “I don’t think there is anything to worry about in playing in Pakistan. I mean people live in Pakistan, I don’t see why people are so scared. Anything can happen anywhere in the world at this point in time.”

Walton added that for him going to Pakistan is not something extraordinarily different, he added; 'going there is just like going to anywhere else in the world.’

The Windies player said its good to see international cricket going back in Pakistan.

'Most of United’s foreign players will come to Pakistan'

There has been no official word yet from Islamabad United, but team sources have confirmed that at least five of the players are coming to Pakistan to play final scheduled in Karachi.

“Most of Islamabad United’s foreign players will come to Pakistan, while a couple of others will make a call after meeting security experts,” said a source.

Three Islamabad United players - Samit Patel, JP Duminy and Luke Ronchi - have told Geo.tv in interviews earlier that they will travel to Pakistan.

West Indian spinner Samuel Badree have also agreed to visit Pakistan.

Team sources have confirmed that Steven Finn has also agreed to travel to Pakistan.

KARACHI: Islamabad United batting all-rounder JP Duminy has decided to visit Pakistan for the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League despite being denied NOC by Cricket South Africa (CSA), according to an espncricinfo news report.

The report said that the South African player was originally denied NOC by his home board but he has decided to make a trip on his own by signing an indemnity form with CSA.

Duminy is leading United in the qualifier against Karachi Kings in the absence of Misbah-ul-Haq, who is out for at least four weeks due to a wrist hairline fracture.

DUBAI: Islamabad United will be battling out their remaining fixtures of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) without regular captain Misbah-ul- Haq who has been ruled out by a hairline fracture on his wrist.

The former Pakistan skipper will be out for four weeks after being hit by a bouncer from left-arm fast bowler Tymal Mills during the final league-round match against Karachi Kings in Sharjah on Friday.

Islamabad earlier lost the services of their appointed vice-captain Rumman Raees after the Pakistan seamer sustained a serious knee injury while fielding against Quetta Gladiators in Sharjah on Feb 28 and is currently recuperating in Karachi.

Misbah, who played eight matches and batted only four times in this PSL with a best score of 22, was present at the stadium during Sunday’s qualifier.

Moreover, Islamabad are also without Andre Russell after the West Indies all-rounder who pulled his right hamstring during team’s crushing victory against Karachi in Sharjah on March 4.

Russell had returned to competitive cricket at the PSL after completing a year-long ban in January for a doping violation.

According to sources close to the Islamabad franchise, Luke Ronchi, J.P. Duminy and Samit Patel have all agreed to make the tour as well. Also likely to visit Pakistan are the West Indies players Chadwick Walton and Samuel Badree.Ronchi, in particular, left no one in doubt as regards to playing in Pakistan. “If you ask me, the answer is ‘yes, yes and yes. I am going over there to play in front of passionate cricket supporters. That is the way it should be and as a professional cricketer I enjoy playing and PSL is very competitive in that sense,” the wicket-keeper/batsman remarked.

I think the difference between visiting Pakistan vs anywhere else is that players cannot really enjoy ofttimes between the games by going for food and other outside activities. So if you have a long trip players will have to be confined to their hotels amid tight security for a longer period of time. For short series like PSL playoffs or WI T20i series this should not be a problem as the duration is just one week and Pakistan govt will provide level A security which makes it safe to travel.

I think the difference between visiting Pakistan vs anywhere else is that players cannot really enjoy ofttimes between the games by going for food and other outside activities. So if you have a long trip players will have to be confined to their hotels amid tight security for a longer period of time. For short series like PSL playoffs or WI T20i series this should not be a problem as the duration is just one week and Pakistan govt will provide level A security which makes it safe to travel.

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True and this is why Test cricket will be the last form of cricket which will come back to Pakistan, give security circumstances will only get strengthen with time.

PCB is doing the right thing by take one step at time. We had PSL Final and XI visited us last year. This year 3 big PSL games will take place in PAK (Inshallah), followed by WI T20 tour. Certainly PCB and State will have to make sure to provide presidential level security for these events, because no room for complacency.

Once these two events will conclude successfully, and Inshallah they will conclude successfully, next step should be to have more mini T20 series with SL, BD and even with ZIM. Therefore, I strongly believe that PCB should work with their counterparts. Have more games of PSL next year and ideally 2 other short T20 series, and then try to convince SA and NZ to come and play short T20 series. Hopefully by that time Rafi stadium in KHI will be completed and due to nature of Bahria Town Karachi (gated community), hopefully our guests will have some fun time in their off time. This way we can try to schedule some ODI's too in PAK by 2020 followed by full T20 and ODI's series by 2021/2022. Then you can throw in a Test too.

But again its all subject to security situation, which has been improved significantly.

PS: lets say Sarfraz is axed from the team, who should be the next captain for Pakistan, please don't say Imad Wasim

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Did I say anything wrong? Let me repeat:

1. The way Sarfaraz has been batting in intl team, he won't be staying for too long. This part of comment is about his batting and yes he has been bakwas as a batsman and definitely needs to improve. Criticism is already coming in after NZ series.

2. Rizwan/Gulrez are better keepers anyway. I don't see anything wrong about that part as well. As far as I've seen during PSL, they have looked very sharp with their glovework and look much safer than Sarfaraz who has the tendency to miss catches/stumpings and run outs.

Islamabad United captain Misbah-ul-Haq is spoilt for choice after his talented bunch of youngsters impressed in the first play-off against Karachi Kings in the HBL Pakistan Super League at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.

While talking to Khaleej Times exclusively after the match, the captain cool said: "Everybody wants to play but if you have youngsters like these who win matches for you then I think you shouldn't have any problem sitting out and watching them perform.

"Today (Sunday) I didn't play and Farhan Sahibzada got the chance. He gave Islamabad a rousing start in the company of the red-hot Luke Ronchi.

"I am very satisfied with the team performance whether I play the match or not."

Islamabad have a galaxy of emerging stars. Asif Ali and Hussain Talat are star performers of this PSL.

"Asif has an abundance of talent and the PSL has provided him with a chance to flourish on the big stage. I am aware of his abilities because in the 2013 semifinal of domestic T20 tournament, he hit a blistering century against the bowling of Mohammad Irfan and Rahat Ali. I knew from that day that this lad will play for Pakistan one day," Misbah said.

While talking about Talat, the captain was of the view that the left-hander has a great future.

"He is a consistent performer at the domestic level. In the past he had some fitness issues but he has overcome the problem now and in my opinion Pakistan need a player like him in the middle order. The boy from Shahdra (near Lahore) has a bright chance to represent the country in future. These players are Pakistan's asset and I hope they will be taken care of by Pakistan Cricket Board."

Talking about the poor turnout of spectators for the Dubai matches, Misbah said: "Some of the Dubai matches failed to draw big crowds but we can't blame the expatriate Pakistanis living here. It is difficult for the working people to spare time and money for the matches on a regular basis. The location of the stadium is also an issue for working class people who don't own cars."

The PCB is making all efforts to take the league back to Pakistan in the near future.

"West Indies have agreed to visit and play a T20 series in Karachi and it will pave the way for international cricket's return to Pakistan," said the former Pakistan captain.

Luke Ronchi is hoping his Islamabad United side can avoid playing Karachi Kings in the HBL Pakistan Super League final – if only so they can get at least some support at the National Stadium on Sunday.

The former New Zealand batman’s explosive hitting sent Islamabad straight through to the showpiece fixture in Karachi.

The Kings franchise will still get a second chance to make it there. On Wednesday, they will have to play the winners of Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators, who meet in Tuesday’s first eliminator play-off at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

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